OnePlus 5T has been officially launched by the Chinese brand, featuring the bezel-less design and 18:9 aspect ratio that have become common in top-end smartphones. The 6-inch full-HD+ (1080×2160 pixel) display of the OnePlus 5T is the biggest ever for a OnePlus handset, and the camera is said to have been improved compared to the OnePlus 5’s. Notably, OnePlus 5T has been launchd at the same price as its predecessor – this will be a relief to those looking to buy a new smartphone, and a break in tradition from the firm’s previous launches, but a disappointment to those that bought the original a few months ago.

Commenting on the OnePlus 5T launch, and the need for a second smartphone in 2017, OnePlus Founder and CEO Pete Lau said in a statement, “The feedback on the OnePlus 5 has been very positive, but there were some areas where we saw room for improvement to create an even better user experience.”

OnePlus 5T price in India, launch offers

OnePlus 5T price in India starts at Rs. 32,999 for the 6GB RAM/ 64GB inbuilt storage variant, and goes up to Rs. 37,999 for the 8GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage variant. It will only be available in a Midnight Black colour variant. The smartphone is exclusive to Amazon India, but will also be available via the OnePlus online store in India. As we’ve mentioned earlier, the smartphone will first go on sale exclusively for Amazon Prime members at 4:30pm IST on November 21 via the online retailer. Customers can also participate in the early access sale on OnePlusStore.in and OnePlus Experience Store at the same time. In the US, the OnePlus 5T 6GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant is priced at $499 (roughly Rs. 32,600), while the 8GB RAM/ 128GB storage variant is priced at $559 (roughly Rs. 36,500).

Open sales of the OnePlus 5T start on November 28, the same day as the US and EU markets, showing the importance of India for the company.

As for launch offers, OnePlus says all OnePlus 5T users will be eligible for a complimentary 12-month accidental damage insurance by Servify. For this, users will need to download the Kotak 811 app and activating a savings account with an initial deposit of Rs 1,000 in the introductory period. The Chinese company is also touting partner offers from Amazon Prime and Kindle. Separately, OnePlus 5T customers will get 1008GB of data from Idea – details of this mobile data offer aren’t immediately clear, but should be clarified closer to the launch.

Finally, OnePlus 5T buyers using HDFC Bank debit and credit cards will get a Rs. 1,500 instant discount on Amazon.in until December 2. Interest in the smartphone has already been good, with Amazon announcing that within a week, it had received 1.1 million registrations from consumers showing their interest.

OnePlus 5T specifications, features

The dual-SIM (Nano) OnePlus 5T runs OxygenOS 4.7 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and adds a feature not seen in the OnePlus 5 – Face Unlock – which the company says is based on advanced facial recognition algorithms that use over 100 facial features identity points to “securely unlock” the smartphone in 0.4 seconds. The display must be on for Face Unlock to work. The company adds that Face Unlock will not work as an authentication method on sensitive apps, like payment apps.

Users can also long-press the fingerprint sensor to take a selfie, and swipe the fingerprint sensor to bring up the notification shade. Other OxygenOS features seen on the OnePlus 5’s latest stable builds have also made it through, such as Reading Mode, Parallel Apps, and Gallery Maps. The last update the OnePlus 5 received was OxygenOS 4.5.14, but we can expect OxygenOS 4.7 to make it way to the older smartphone as well.

The OnePlus 5T bears a 6.01-inch full-HD+ (1080×1920 pixels) Full Optic AMOLED with an 18:9 aspect ratio, 401ppi pixel density, and 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display also supports sRGB and DCI-P3 colour gamuts. Just like the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 5T is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 835 SoC, clocked at up to 2.45GHz, paired with either 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM.

As for the cameras on the OnePlus 5T – OnePlus has decided to update the dual rear camera setup on the smartphone, making changes from the setup we saw on the OnePlus 5. The primary sensor remains identical to the OnePlus 5, being a 16-megapixel Sony IMX398 sensor with 1.12-micron pixels, and an aperture of f/1.7. However, it appears to have an upgraded focal length of 27.22mm.

The secondary camera, which was previously powered by a 20-megapixel Sony IMX350 sensor and paired with a telephoto lens, has now been replaced with a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376K sensor. It retains the 1-micron pixel size, however, upgrades the aperture to f/1.7 and focal length to 27.22mm – the same as the primary sensor. The rear camera setup is accompanied by dual-LED flash, and can record 4K video at 30fps, apart from 1080p video at 60fps.

As you can see with the dual camera changes on the OnePlus 5T, the emphasis is on low-light photography rather than depth-of-field effects provided by the telephoto lens from the original. OnePlus says that in low-light conditions, under 10 lux, the OnePlus 5T switches to the secondary 20-megapixel camera. This camera is equipped with ‘Intelligent Pixel Technology’, first seen on the OnePlus 3T’s front camera, which merges four pixels into one with the aim of ensuring each resultant pixel captures enough light. It also results in reduced noise and improves clarity, OnePlus says. The dual camera setup still enables depth-of-field effects with Portrait mode, however, since the focal length on both lenses is identical, OnePlus says there will be no cropping as seen with the telephoto lens.

OnePlus also says it has redesigned the camera UI on the OnePlus 5T, making it easier to access all the features with using the smartphone with one hand, thanks to new swipe gestures. The OnePlus 5’s Pro Mode interface makes its way to the OnePlus 5T as well, and EIS is carried forward.

The OnePlus 5T’s front camera is identical in all aspects to the OnePlus 5, sporting a 16-megapixel Sony IMX371 sensor with 1-micron pixels and an aperture of f/2.0. It can record 1080p videos at 30fps.

OnePlus is carrying forward the same inbuilt storage configurations as the OnePlus 5 with the OnePlus 5T, and it comes with either 64GB or 128GB UFS 2.1 2-lane storage. In fact, all other specifications of the smartphone are identical to the original OnePlus 5. Connectivity options on the OnePlus 5T include 4G VoLTE, dual-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz) Wi-Fi 802.11ac with MIMO 2×2, Bluetooth v5.0 with aptX and aptX HD, NFC, GPS/ A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB Type-C (v2.0) port.

Sensors on board the OnePlus 5T include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and an RGB sensor. It also bears a fingerprint sensor, now moved to the rear panel instead of the home button, thanks to the bezel-less display. The OnePlus 5T also retains the iconic hardware alert slider that’s been a staple on the company’s smartphones since the OnePlus Xand OnePlus 2. A big change however is the lack of hardware capacitive buttons. Present on all OnePlus phones until the 5T, the change may not be for everyone, but certainly signals a change that will probably be carried forward to future generations. It’s a little ironic of course, that the taller, 18:9 aspect ratio display that removed the hardware buttons from the bottom lip, is the very same display that will be forced to give up some visual real estate for onscreen navigation buttons.

The OnePlus 5T is powered by a 3300mAh non-removable battery, the same capacity as the OnePlus 5, and supports the company’s Dash Charge (5V, 4A) fast charging technology. The smartphone weighs 162 grams, and measures 156.1x75x7.3mm. To put that form factor in perspective, the OnePlus 5 weighs 153 grams and measured 154.2×74.1×7.25mm, making the OnePlus 5T longer, wider, and thicker than its predecessor. The smartphone is still made out of a metal unibody, using anodised aluminium.